Fintech Firm Secures PA-P Licence Approval From RBI
One Mobikwik Systems, the parent company of MobiKwik, has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a Payment Aggregator-Physical (PA-P) licence.
The approval will allow the Gurugram-based fintech company to significantly expand its offline merchant payments business and strengthen its physical payment acceptance infrastructure across India.
The development comes just a month after MobiKwik secured RBI approval for a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) licence, marking another major regulatory milestone for the company as it broadens its financial services ecosystem.
Company Targets 10X Merchant Business Growth
According to the company, the PA-P approval will support its ambition to achieve 10X growth in its merchant business by FY28.
MobiKwik currently supports nearly 4.9 million merchants through payment infrastructure products including UPI QR codes, Soundbox devices and Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machines.
Over the next 18-24 months, the company plans to aggressively expand its merchant footprint across small businesses, organised retail chains and oil and gas outlets.
The company also intends to significantly increase deployments of Soundbox and EDC devices to strengthen its position within India’s rapidly expanding offline payments ecosystem.
Industry experts believe offline merchant payments remain one of the largest untapped opportunities within India’s digital financial services market, especially in semi-urban and underpenetrated regions.
Offline Payments Offer Better Monetisation Opportunities
Unlike consumer UPI payments that largely operate on zero-Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) rails, offline merchant acquiring businesses offer multiple monetisation avenues for fintech companies.
MobiKwik said offline merchant payments provide stronger revenue potential through MDR income, subscription fees and device rentals.
The company also sees long-term opportunities in leveraging merchant transaction data for credit underwriting and lending distribution.
Analysts believe the combination of payments infrastructure and embedded credit products is becoming a key growth strategy for fintech companies looking to improve profitability and customer retention.
India’s digital payments market has become increasingly competitive as companies focus on merchant acquisition, value-added services and financial product cross-selling to drive revenue growth.
Founder Highlights Growth Potential Beyond Urban Markets
Bipin Singh said offline merchant payments are emerging as one of the strongest growth drivers within India’s digital economy.
He noted that underpenetrated markets beyond major urban centres continue to present significant opportunities for digital payment infrastructure providers.
According to Singh, the RBI’s PA-P approval positions MobiKwik to scale its offline payments network across the country and deepen merchant adoption in smaller cities and local commerce ecosystems.
Industry observers believe India’s merchant payments infrastructure market could witness rapid expansion over the next few years as small businesses increasingly adopt digital transaction systems.
MobiKwik Reports Improved Financial Performance
The regulatory approval also comes alongside improving financial performance for the fintech company.
In Q4 FY26, MobiKwik reported an 8% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to Rs 289 crore.
The company also posted a profit of Rs 4.4 crore during the quarter compared to a loss of Rs 56 crore in the corresponding period last year, reflecting improved operational efficiency and stronger business monetisation.
Analysts believe regulatory approvals across payments and lending could significantly strengthen MobiKwik’s long-term growth strategy as competition intensifies across India’s fintech ecosystem.
